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Saigon's Place Rigault de Genouilly and the Chamber of Commerce.
Saigon's Place Rigault de Genouilly and the Chamber of Commerce.

In 1868, Charles Lemire (Annales des voyages, de la géographie, de l’histoire et de l’archéologie, 1869) described the Rond-point unflatteringly as “a big empty space which is currently being transformed into a roundabout, or perhaps a square, where some benches have been placed in anticipation”.

At the time of Lemire’s visit to Saigon, residents of the square included the first Chambre de Commerce and briefly also the Municipal Council, which shared a compound at No. 11; and the Cercle des Officiers, which occupied a temporary building at No. 8 until the completion of its permanent home in 1876. The Hôtel de l'Univers, which opened in 1872 as a two-story building on Rue Vannier, was subsequently extended to overlook the square, with entrances on both Rue Vannier and Rue Turc. Of the above, only the former Chambre de Commerce building has survived.

The first monument was set up on the square in 1875. Writing in 1888, Louise Bourbonnaud (Les Indes et l’Extrême Orient, impressions de voyage d’une parisienne, 1892) described this monument as “a high pyramid in memory of Monsieur Navaillé, a prominent citizen who did much for the development of trade in Saigon and the colony”. She added that the cost of the monument was met by subscription.

saigoneer.com/saigon-infrastructure/6049-old-saigon-saigo...

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Taken on: July 17, 2016
Sets appears in:   • Công trường Mê Linh, Saigon   
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Saigon's Place Rigault de Genouilly and the Chamber of Commerce.

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